This is in line with the actual coating application alone. The prepwork and paint correction/polishing before is the most important and time consuming part. 900-1200 total. The coating is just the bit of additional gloss and best part is the ease of maintenance. Even on new cars, it's easy to...
The prepwork prior to coating application is very important. The coated surface will only be as good as the polishing completed beforehand. Depending on the current condition of the paint, a 1 or 2 step correction should be completed. I attempt to get cars 90% plus corrected before coating. If...
A ceramic coating does not add much thickness to the surface at all. 1 layer provides about 1 micron of thickness or about 1/50th the thickness of your clearcoat. I'd live with the orange peel. Sanding and rotary compounding can really cut down the factory clear quickly. Good luck with everything!
I'd definitely recommend polishing prior to applying the ceramic coating. The gloss obtained on coated cars is 90% in the prepwork prior to coating. The ceramic adds additional gloss but the largest benefit they provide is the ease of maintenance. Plus, if you decide you should have polished...